2013 Daniel.
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Abstract

Objective – To assess how the age, gender, and race
characteristics of library users affect their perceptions of the
approachability of reference librarians with similar or different demographic
characteristics.

Design – Image rating survey.

Setting – Large, three-campus university system in the United
States.

Subjects – There were 449 students, staff, and faculty of
different ages, gender, and race.

Methods – In an online survey respondents were presented with
images of hypothetical librarians and asked to evaluate their approachability,
using a scale from 1 to 10. The images showed librarians with neutral emotional
expressions against a standardized, neutral background. The librarians’ age,
gender, and race were systematically varied. Only White, African American, and
Asian American librarians were shown. Afterwards respondents were asked to
identify their own age, gender, race, and status.

Main Results – Respondents perceived female librarians as more
approachable than male librarians, maybe due to expectations caused by the
female librarian stereotype. They found librarians of their own age group more
approachable. African American respondents scored African American librarians
as more approachable, whereas Whites expressed no significant variation when
rating the approachability of librarians of different races. Thus, African
Americans demonstrated strong in-group bias but Whites manifested colour
blindness – possibly a strategy to avoid the appearance of racial bias. Asian
Americans rated African American librarians lower than White librarians.

Conclusion – This study demonstrates that visible demographic
characteristics matter in people’s first impressions of librarians. Findings
confirm that diversity initiatives are needed in academic libraries to ensure
that all users feel welcome and are encouraged to approach librarians.
Regarding gender, programs that deflate the female librarian stereotype may
help improve the approachability image of male librarians. Academic libraries
should staff the reference desk with individuals covering a wide range of ages,
including college-aged interns, whom traditional age students find most
approachable. Libraries should also build a racially diverse staff to meet the
needs of a racially diverse user population. Since first impressions have
lasting effects on the development of social relationships, structural
diversity should be a priority for libraries’ diversity programs.

Commentary

Whereas most library
diversity studies focus on librarians or users separately, this project
provides a compelling analysis of their interactions, especially the impact of
their respective demographic characteristics on librarians’ perceived
approachability. It relies on recent psychological models for stereotypical
impressions. An extensive bibliography gives the study a strong theoretical and
methodological foundation.

The survey methodology
and statistical analysis are solid, and the instrument was validated by pilot
tests (Glynn, 2006, p.393). For more nuanced results, additional ethno-racial
categories could have been included: respondents were categorized as White
(around 60%), African American (only 6%), and Asian American (18%), with the
remainder being lumped under “other.” For this reason it would have been useful
to include an appendix with the demographic and personality questions that were
asked in the survey and detailed information about the respondents’ demographic
profiles. The authors acknowledge that they could not include Hispanic
librarians, because they could not find enough librarian images that would
match the purpose of the study.

Some of the
interpretations rely on appealing but untested hypotheses, such as the positive
impact of the female librarian stereotype on women’s approachability or White
respondents’ strategic
colour blindness when
evaluating Black librarians. The authors confirm the need for diversity in
library staff. Their findings lend credence to the proposal to place student
workers at the reference desk. However their conclusions overestimate the
external validity of the study (Glynn, 2006, p. 398). The survey was
administered at a Midwestern university, where the ethno-racial makeup and
culture are somewhat different from other regions, but the authors offer
seemingly uniform, nationwide recommendations about the need for diversity
programs. Regarding gender, they rightly recognize that stereotypes can vary as
they are influenced by factors like “societal norms, cultural factors and
context” (p. 283). Yet they do not consider that race and ethnicity are also
social constructions that are context-dependent. Curiously, their finding that
female librarians are seen as more approachable leads them to conclude that
more male librarians are needed, butthe
finding that young or Black librarians are preferred by young or Black users
prompts them to call for an increased number of young persons and African
Americans on the reference desk. It looks like the authors determined some of
their conclusions before starting their study.

Finally, reliance on a
neutral, hypothetical situation is sound practice but it would be useful to
test librarian approachability in real-life or naturalistic settings, where the
impact of demographic factors relative to affective and situational factors
could be evaluated. Since this 2012 article, the authors have published a new
study testing the influence of affect and clothing on approachability and
recommend research into combinations of variables that should lead to valuable
insight for library services (Bonnet & McAlexander 2013, p. 10).

References

Bonnet, A. & McAlexander, B. (2013) First
impressions and the reference encounter: The influence of affect and clothing
on librarian approachability. Journal of
Academic Librarianship,doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2012.11.025